Attraction
by nikki3
Summary: They weren't a couple. And no, they weren't dating. They were simply going out together. They had never really done anything that would give people that idea. Their friends were really weird.


Title: Attraction

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Romance/Humor

Disclaimer: Don't own Prince of Tennis.

WARNING: Slight Yaoi. Mostly Shounen-ai. A bit of swearing every now and then. Enough said.

Main Pairing: Tezuka x ????????

Other Pairings: Sanada x Atobe, Golden Pair, Saeki x Fuji, Momoshiro x Ryoma, etc.

Author's notes: I would like to establish first that I've only seen until episode 114 of the anime, therefore, this would be a bit AU as it occurs after Seigaku wins against Rikkaidai and wins the Nationals (assuming of course that that would be how the story goes) and also that Tezuka is already back in Japan. This is my first weird pairing (crack pairing if I'm not mistaken with the term) fic for Prince of Tennis. I hope you guys will like it.

Summary: They weren't a couple. And no, they weren't dating. (They were simply going out together.) They had never really done anything that would give people that idea. Their friends were really weird.  
  
-Attraction-  
  
Tezuka opened his eyes, the dream replaying over and over in his mind. He raised his cold hand to wipe the sweat from his equally cold forehead. The images had been so vivid, so real.  
  
It seemed that his mind liked playing tricks on him, having woken up in this manner for the third time this week.  
  
He sat up, feeling uncomfortably sticky and wet somewhere in his lower extremities. He raised his blanket and grimaced, biting back a curse. It seemed, his body liked playing tricks on him as well.  
  
Catlike eyes gazing at him in lust... A mischievous smile as hands moved lower...  
  
This has been a regular occurrence for months now. It started out on rare occasions, slowly becoming more frequent as time went by, since he started thinking about the rival team, Rikkaidai. Those catlike eyes have haunted his dreams since.  
  
It had been weeks since his teammates' match against Rikkaidai... and months since he first laid eyes on him.  
  
It seemed strange that he would think, well, dream of this person so often in this way. He knew practically close to nothing about that guy other than his name, what he looked like and some extra info from Oishi's reports on his tennis skills.  
  
Based on his one time experience with the object of his subconscious' affections, this guy was a big troublemaker of the rival team and seemed to be in need of a bit of attitudinal adjustment. So overall, why him?  
  
It wasn't like Tezuka was opposed to liking another guy. It was just that it was him of all the people there were to desire.  
  
There's Fuji, the prodigy of his team, quite effeminate in looks and pretty much someone he knew well enough to like. (But of course, Saeki would be opposed to him having any sort of intentions towards his boyfriend other than the friendly or teammate sort.)  
  
There's also Oishi, the mother hen of the Seigaku Tennis Club. His friend was smart, kind and very caring, someone he could depend on very well. (But Eiji would probably throw a fit and ruin tennis practice and teamwork. Not a good thing to have when you're aiming to unite the team.)  
  
Echizen wouldn't be a bad choice either. (Except of course that he was training Echizen not to become a potential boyfriend but rather to become Seigaku's pillar of support. Besides, Momoshiro would probably use his Dunk Smash on him when he wasn't looking. That would be a real pain and he had only just recovered from his shoulder injury.)  
  
There were also those not on his team, like Atobe. Atobe may appear extremely arrogant but deep down was a nice guy, a very capable and dependable captain, smart and had good looks to boot. (Even though Atobe is a good choice, he would be very much detrimental to Tezuka's health. Sanada would most likely kill him for expressing his interest in that manner if ever that should happen whereas Atobe would be extremely flattered and be more of a puffed up peacock than he already is.)  
  
On the same team as Atobe, there's also Ohtori (whose boyfriend, Shishido, would snap and would pretty much try to beat the living daylights out of him), Hiyoshi (who happens to have recently started going out with Inui and Tezuka wasn't about to risk being the target of Inui's juice attacks), Oshitari (whose flippy boyfriend, Gakuto, would probably drive him nuts by flipping too much) and Jirou (who is currently the center of Kaidoh's attention).  
  
There is also Saeki but it was already established that he was dating the most sadistic member of Seigaku. (Tezuka would rather like to keep his head and his sanity in one piece, thank you very much.)  
  
Then, there's Fudomine's Shinji. (His boyfriend, Kamio would probably blow a fuse, raise his rhythm and talk a few thousand words a minute, giving him every reason, stupid or not, why he shouldn't even try to express any sort of affection.)  
  
There are plenty of other people that are more desirable than this person but why? He must have lost it to be even attracted to Rikkaidai's Kirihara Akaya.  
  
----------  
  
"Oi!"  
  
Kirihara Akaya had zoned off into space while waiting for his turn to play. Something was off.  
  
"Kirihara."  
  
It certainly wasn't how he started his day (by falling off his bed) or how he slept in the bus and missed his stop. It wasn't that he forgot to bring his lunch either. (That's a pretty much normal occurrence.) It most likely wasn't because he had slept through English class. (He got off pretty light for that though.) It wasn't that he pissed his teammates off with his bad- assed attitude during the first few minutes of practice either. So what was it?  
  
He couldn't lay a finger on it. There was something he was missing.  
  
Brown hair, deep voice, tender touches meant for a lover alone...  
  
Kirihara's eyes widened. What the? Could it be...? Well, it might have been that... that dream he had... No, it couldn't have been. He had never thought about that person that way. He must have gone crazy or something to be thinking about him in that way. It wasn't like him. Wasn't like him at all...  
  
"KIRIHARA!"  
  
Kirihara snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Sanada's voice. "Eh?"  
  
Sanada sighed exasperatedly while Yukimura merely smiled. Jackal was raising his brow at him while the rest of the team appeared to be in various degrees of amusement.  
  
"Aww... Did the kitty cat hurt himself today?" Marui said before snickering. "Don't think too much! You might kill your brain! If you had one!" The senior laughed. His comments earned amused chuckles from Yagyuu and Niou.  
  
Kirihara glared at the senior before Yukimura dragged him away, leaving Marui to deal with a very strict Sanada.  
  
Upon reaching the empty locker room, as everyone else was out practicing in the courts, Yukimura turned to him with a worried expression. "Is there anything wrong, Kirihara-san?"  
  
"Eh?" The second year ace was surprised. Was he that easy to read?  
  
"You've been distracted since you came in for practice. From what Jackal tells me, you haven't been yourself all day. So, what's going on with you today? We can't help you if you won't talk to us about this. It's bad for the team."  
  
Kirihara looked down at his feet, his fists clenched at his side before looking back up at his captain. "Nothing. There's nothing wrong. Nothing at all."  
  
The captain sighed in resignation, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get the ace to tell him the problem. "Well, if you need any help, tell us and we'll do what we can, ne, Aka-chan?"  
  
"Aa..."  
  
Of course, there's nothing wrong with him! He was just a bit... off today. That dream was just random. He wasn't thinking of it when he woke up to find his mess on his sheets (which resulted in him falling off his bed in surprise). He wasn't thinking of it when he dozed off on the bus (which caused him to miss his stop). He wasn't thinking of it when he forgot his lunch (despite his mother's repeated reminders for him to pick it up from the kitchen counter). He wasn't thinking of it when he fell asleep in English class or for any other class. He wasn't thinking of it when he decided to let his mouth run away with him, pissing Marui off. And he certainly wasn't thinking about it now. So there! There was absolutely nothing wrong with him!  
  
Tomorrow he'd be back to his normal self and he could just forget about Tezuka Kunimitsu and that stupid dream. Now, if only he could only tell himself that.  
  
----------  
  
Tezuka sat comfortably in his chair as he quietly read the novel in his hands. Business for this particular coffee shop had been particularly slow today. There was no practice for the tennis club as Ryuzaki-sensei had called it off for the day.  
  
Everyone was out relaxing and having fun. Tezuka envied them sometimes for being so carefree (and on a shallow note, that they have their significant other with them). It was lonely sometimes. Although he was used to it, it still does not remove the empty feeling within his heart. Being on the courts, that feeling would be driven away for at least temporarily.  
  
The bells jingled as another customer came in just as Tezuka was sipping his hot chocolate.  
  
"Eh... Why did Sanada-san have to blow me off like that? I told them before that there's absolutely nothing wrong with me. Che... Sanada-san must be taking lessons from that annoying boyfriend of his. Now he won't play with me... Damn it..."  
  
Tezuka nearly uncharacteristically dropped his cup at the sound of the voice that had been constantly on his mind for the past few months. He turned his head at the source, drinking in the sight of one disgruntled Kirihara Akaya.  
  
And it seemed that said Rikkaidai player spotted him and sauntered over.  
  
"Eh... Seigaku's Tezuka Kunimitsu, what are you doing here?"  
  
Memories of his dream surfacing in his mind, Tezuka looked away and ignored him. It was bad enough having to dream about him but seeing him in the flesh was just worse.  
  
Kirihara frowned, an indignant expression on his face. "Oi, oi, Tezuka- san." Then he smirked. "Don't be so cold ne? How about having a match with me? One set match should be enough."  
  
Tezuka looked back and regarded him for a moment before nodding. "Very well, Kirihara."  
  
----------  
  
Their match ended quite unexpectedly. They had gone to the public courts for that one match but right in the middle of it, the Fudomine rhythm runt and the Seigaku Dunk Smash specialist just happened to have come by. A few words had been exchanged and soon both guys were itching for a brawl. Someone had to have enough sense to keep things from getting out of hand.  
  
Of course it wasn't him. He had enough sense to stay out of their way, saving his own skin in the process. Self-preservation came before everything else. It was much more amusing to watch them from the sidelines.  
  
Kirihara watched them in quiet amusement as every one of those who tried to stop them ended up being the center of attention of two frightening glares. Aside from him, only Tezuka seemed to be calm, as expected of Seigaku's Tennis Club captain.  
  
Apparently, he was the only one who could stop them as well. Bravo. All he had to do was threaten the bigger guy to start running about a hundred laps or he'll be drinking some lame juice and told the rhythm runt to do the same unless he wanted news to reach Fudomine's captain, which did not sit well with the smaller guy. Tezuka had made sure that the two troublemakers finished their hundred laps.  
  
They didn't finish the match as it was getting late by the time those two finished running. Kirihara had to catch the next bus home. He extended a hand to Seigaku's stoic captain. "Let's do this again next time. You still owe me a match."  
  
"Aa. I'll be looking forward to that."  
  
However brief the contact of their hands was, it didn't fail to send shocks of electricity up and down his spine, the unexpected rush of blood to his cheeks and the sudden feeling of something doing summersaults at the pit of his stomach. It wasn't painful. It was just... downright weird. He didn't know what it was.  
  
But he wouldn't mind finding out... for curiosity's sake. Then again, curiosity did kill the cat. But... it didn't stop the cat from being curious either.  
  
Kirihara smiled to himself as he walked away. One day, he was going to find out what was so special about Tezuka Kunimitsu. Maybe then, he'd be able to crush him completely.  
  
But somehow, deep down, he felt that he wouldn't be able to do so.  
  
----------  
  
Tezuka stared out from his window. There was no school and no tennis practice (which, thank God, meant that there were no juice attacks from Inui either). He could enjoy some quiet moments in peace.  
  
Except that...  
  
He felt restless just sitting there in the quiet alone. He was definitely not in peace as his mind was wallowing in confusion. It had been days since he had seen Kirihara Akaya but the image of the junior would not leave him still. In fact, because of that day, the dreams had become more vivid, more... more...  
  
Tezuka sighed. He had to get out of here. He needed a breath of fresh air. He needed... something. He needed something to keep his mind off of Rikkaidai's junior ace.  
  
Which is exactly why, half an hour later, he found himself sitting in the same chair, having hot chocolate on the same table as that day...  
  
Coming here was a bad idea. He should've known it was after all, going to a place that had memories of that Rikkaidai ace was not going to help him, not at all. He wanted to think on how to handle this situation he had fallen in but all he could think about was him.  
  
Tezuka choked on his drink when the coffee shop door opened, the bells jingling. He did not just see Kirihara Akaya walking through that door.  
  
"Eh? Tezuka-san?"  
  
Damn it.  
  
"I'm still tired out from practicing with Sanada-san and Yukimura buchou. I can't take you on that match you owe me." Receiving no answer, he continued, "Well, since you're here, mind if I join you?  
  
Tezuka choked on his hot chocolate for the second time that day.  
  
----------  
  
Kirihara found it amusing to watch Tezuka choke on his drink, whatever it was. He didn't know why but it seemed that his mere presence made the Seigaku captain seem on edge.  
  
After patting the choking boy on the back a few times, he sat himself down on the opposite chair. Tezuka may not have told him to stay but he didn't tell him to go either. So, he was staying... staying because Tezuka Kunimitsu was interesting if not anything else.  
  
It had been days since their unfinished match. But Kirihara didn't really feel unsatisfied with it for some odd reason. There had been no declared victor yet he felt that he had gotten something out of the experience of being with the Seigaku captain. The only question is what exactly did he get?  
  
He didn't know.  
  
He was a long way from home but he still made the effort to come here. Well, it was more of because it was far from people he knew personally. That's why he was here. He was often here when something troubled him and it was just his luck that one of his troubles was now sitting opposite him. Well, it was also his own stupid fault to invite himself to this table, his own mind piped up.  
  
Tezuka had been silent for a while as he recovered while Kirihara ordered some hot chocolate as well.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
Kirihara's lips curved into a slight smile. He could just outright lie but he opted for an answer closer to the real reason. "To get away from buchou and the others from trying to pick my brain."  
  
"Aa."  
  
The Rikkaidai ace tilted his head a little as he rested his chin on his palm. "What about you? What are you doing here?"  
  
"What does it look like I'm doing?" It sounded quite unsure, that question. Quite uncharacteristic of Tezuka given his usual attitude.  
  
Kirihara leaned forward a mischievous smile on his lips. "Were you thinking of me by any chance?"  
  
He watched as Tezuka's eyes widened a fraction before going back to normal. He was dumbfounded for a moment. Was Tezuka really thinking about him? Why would he?  
  
"No, I wasn't," Tezuka replied with deep, cold voice.  
  
Oh well. It wasn't as if he wanted the icy bastard to think of him anyway. Or so he thought.  
  
----------  
  
Tezuka continued watching the other regulars practice from the sidelines. He had not exactly spoken much to Kirihara while they sat together. Well, the other boy wasn't exactly fishing for much anyway. But it was a bit comforting, their silence.  
  
At the end of it all, all they've gotten from each other were a bunch of numbers: Tezuka's own cellphone number and Kirihara's cellphone number. The exchange was quickly done and was for the convenience of setting the date, time and place for their unfinished match.  
  
They had set the said match for today, after tennis practice. They would meet up at the usual place, the coffee shop they had coincidentally met up twice. Then from there, they would walk over to the public courts together.  
  
Practice progressed and finished a lot sooner than he had expected. He had declined invites from Eiji and Momoshiro to go out for some burgers much to their dismay. Usually, Tezuka would have agreed just for the heck of it. (As it had been like that since he came back from Germany.)  
  
Hopefully, it wouldn't draw in his teammates' infinite curiosities and interests. As he would discover later on, there was a hundred percent probability that there was a fat chance of that ever happening in the first place.  
  
----------  
  
"Oi, oi... Where do you think Tezuka buchou is going?"  
  
"Why did you have to drag me here with you, Momo-chan sempai?"  
  
"Nya, Oishi? Did Tezuka say anything?"  
  
"Err... No, Eiji, he didn't..."  
  
Four teens peeked out from behind a building as their esteemed captain made his way down the street. As he disappeared from their sight, they bounded up after him and hid behind some very convenient bushes. Then they scanned the area for the familiar pillar of support, namely Tezuka. They found him sitting in a coffee shop with his back to them, talking to someone they couldn't see.  
  
"Aah... So Tezuka-san is on a date..." someone mused beside them.  
  
"Eh? Fuji? What are you doing here, nya?"  
  
"I thought it would be interesting to follow you guys around."  
  
"..............."  
  
Their attention shifted back to their quarry as they made their way closer, adapting strange disguises as they stepped into the shop, to somehow overhear the conversation between Tezuka and his "date". There was a massive face-vault from Oishi, Eiji and Momoshiro while Ryoma smirked and Fuji smiled in amusement.  
  
"I'm glad I made it on time! Marui-sempai and the others just wouldn't leave me alone!"  
  
"Aa."  
  
"One set match?"  
  
"Aa."  
  
"Do you still remember the scoring from last time?"  
  
"Two games to – Um, no, I don't remember."  
  
That quickly gained everyone's interests. Tezuka, not remembering something like that? That was strange.  
  
"Well, it doesn't matter. I'll beat you anyway."  
  
Their captain and his "date" finished their drinks, paid for them and walked out together, making their way to the public courts. They were still oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked. Reaching their destination, Tezuka and his "date" started playing on the courts, their stalkers didn't notice someone else joining their little convention until...  
  
"So Tezuka is dating Rikkaidai's Kirihara Akaya..."  
  
The teens nearly jumped out of their skins as Inui made his presence known, scribbling and mumbling about other facts pertaining to the teens playing in the court.  
  
"Maa, maa, Inui, what are you doing here?"  
  
"Ii data..."  
  
"Phshhhh..."  
  
"Eh? Mamushi?!"  
  
"Sorry, guys, I guess I couldn't resist being curious about this too..."  
  
"Taka-san..."  
  
----------  
  
"So, Aka-chan, how about going to that new bakery that opened a few days ago? I heard that they're selling really good pies!" Marui Bunta said excitedly to his teammate.  
  
Kirihara looked at him for a moment before replying, "Nope. Sorry. Got somewhere else to be." Then he stood up, picked up his things and walked out of their locker room.  
  
Silence descended and stretched within the room. No one knew what to say.  
  
Usually, by now, the room would be in complete chaos as Kirihara would have made an insulting remark about Marui's bottomless pit called his stomach and Marui would retaliate somewhere along those lines as well while Yagyuu and Niou would eventually join in whether to stop them or to aggravate them further... That remains unclear. Jackal would be holding Kirihara and Marui by the back of their shirts to prevent them from getting physically violent but not being able to stop them from their verbal warfare. Yanagi would stand in the sidelines observing their interaction and possibly taking note of everything. Yukimura would most likely remain quiet and would rather wait for them to finish saying everything before ordering them all back outside to run laps. Then this is where Sanada comes in.  
  
Sanada would scowl and order everyone (except Yukimura) to start running laps, not saying exactly how many they had to do (most of the time, it's only when Sanada's anger subsides that they finally get out of said punishment).  
  
Something that was so routine abruptly changed. Well, not really. They could still remember Sanada being the first one out while their squabbles were left unresolved and Yukimura was even well yet at that time so no one could do anything to stop them. It was only later that they found out that Sanada was meeting up with his narcissistic boyfriend, Atobe Keigo. (Come to think of it, it did take a while for that little information to sink in.) But now, they've already settled for a compromise so that there would be some semblance of order within the club.  
  
So now, going back to Kirihara, where the hell was he going? A date? Nah. But he's still being totally unlike himself. He hadn't bitten anyone's head off since he came in for school. He was wide-awake on the bus (which had shocked the bus driver). He actually remembered to bring his lunch (much to Jackal's relief). He ignored being baited and actually remained civil, even went as far as to smile brightly at everybody (which sent chills down everyone's spine except the girls, who found it cute). He hadn't gotten physically violent all day long. And most importantly, he hadn't even caused a whiff of trouble the entire time (especially at tennis practice).  
  
Whatever it was with Kirihara, something was most definitely off.  
  
Marui kept popping his gum for a few seconds before grabbing his stuff and running out after the junior before him. Yagyuu and Niou exchanged glances before going after him. Jackal sighed tiredly. Being Kirihara's self- assigned caretaker, he couldn't resist but go just to make sure that the junior wouldn't get himself into trouble. Yanagi stood up and left as well. Perhaps to take in some interesting data while he was at it.  
  
That left only Yukimura and Sanada in the locker room. Yukimura cleared his throat.  
  
"You should go after them."  
  
Sanada snorted. "I'm not their babysitter."  
  
"Sanada..."  
  
The senior stiffened. He knew that tone of voice. It was that frightening voice Yukimura rarely used that told him to get his butt off the bench and start running after his teammates if he knew what was good for him.  
  
And run he did.  
  
----------  
  
Somewhere else in Kantou, Hyotei Gakuen's tennis practice had been over for a while. But many still remained, talking, joking and taunting each other with goodness knows what.  
  
"– yeah and it went out his nose, so I was like –"  
  
"– eww, that's gross! Where the hell do you come up –"  
  
"– my ass! Leave, Chotarou alone, you flippy –"  
  
"– flops. I can't believe I failed my first –"  
  
"– wild ride? Yup, Gakuto's like that especially when he –"  
  
"– sucks! What the hell does he's doing?! –"  
  
Hyotei's number one player, Atobe Keigo sighed exasperatedly at all the noise his teammates were making and was silently thankful that his boyfriend was as quiet as he was. Besides, having all that talk jumbled up, he could actually hear terribly crude messages that were currently doing their best to give him a headache.  
  
Just then, his mobile phone rang. Thankful for the distraction and the excuse to get out of the locker room for a moment, he answered it as he closed the door behind him.  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
Moments later, the door slammed open and Atobe was gone in record speed, leaving his teammates gaping in shock. Then the door swung shut, revealing a pretty much flattened Gakuto.  
  
"Oww..."  
  
"Gakuto! Are you alright?"  
  
"Hah! Serves you right, you ass –"  
  
"That's not very nice, Shishido-sempai..."  
  
"Gekkoukujyo..."  
  
"Usu."  
  
Then someone snored.  
  
----------  
  
It didn't take long for the Rikkaidai regulars to consolidate and start stalking after Kirihara. As opposed to the Seigaku regulars, they had been more inconspicuous in following their teammate if only some off them would just keep quiet.  
  
"Marui, your heavy! Get off me!"  
  
"I can't see! You're head's too big!"  
  
"Oi, oi, you two. Don't make too much noise!"  
  
Someone shifted and pulled the shorter player up by the back of his shirt. "Better?"  
  
"O, thank you, o big and mighty one," was the ungrateful reply.  
  
Two boys snickered.  
  
"Hmm... Interesting. Who would've thought that Kirihara would go on a date with Seigaku's Tezuka Kunimitsu?"  
  
"WHAT?!" the others screamed.  
  
Behind them, Sanada was apologizing profusely to the shop owner for his teammates' unruly behavior, making promises to himself that their would be dire consequences when they meet up for practice the next day.  
  
All of them were saved from a great deal of scolding from their vice- captain when the shop door opened and Atobe stepped in, pretty much out of breath.  
  
"Genichirou! I came here as soon as I could. What's this about Kirihara on a date?"  
  
All of them stared at him for a moment before Niou exclaimed, "Oh look! They're leaving!"  
  
"Hurry! We have to keep up with them!"  
  
"Oww, don't bite! Kirihara biting me is bad enough. I don't need you to bite me too!"  
  
"Put me down you big oaf!"  
  
Atobe quickly sidestepped to avoid being trampled by his boyfriend's teammates. Sanada sighed exasperatedly, rubbing his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Yanagi silently followed the other out, leaving Atobe and Sanada behind.  
  
"I suppose babysitting duty is getting to you, aa?"  
  
"Remind me again just why I put up with them..."  
  
"Hmm, you seem to be worse off than I am with my teammates. At least they wouldn't resort to something as low as stalking some –"  
  
"Atobe! Save me! Shishido's stark-raving mad!"  
  
Atobe's brow twitched as the familiar sound of Gakuto's voice.  
  
"Gakuto, Atobe's on a date with his boyfriend. It's rude for us to interrupt them."  
  
"Come back here you bendy bitch! I'm not done with you yet!"  
  
"Shishido-san!"  
  
"Gekkoukujyo..."  
  
"Usu."  
  
Then someone snored. Sanada promptly burst out laughing.  
  
----------  
  
Eiji was shifting to get a better view of the two players on the court when he bumped into someone.  
  
"Hoi?"  
  
Yagyuu's familiar face greeted him when he looked up. "Hello, Kikumaru- san."  
  
"EH?!"  
  
"SSSHHHHH!!!"  
  
This gained the attention of the other Seigaku regulars. And all of them were as shocked as he was to see Rikkaidai's regulars here as well.  
  
"You guys should keep quiet. They'll hear us!"  
  
"Yeah, and we won't be able to see anything interesting. Hehe."  
  
"Shut up, you ass!"  
  
"Please be quiet. I'm taking notes."  
  
There was an exasperated sigh.  
  
"Oh, Sanada-san, you caught up with us."  
  
There was another exasperated sigh.  
  
"Remind me again why I'm here stalking Kirihara with you."  
  
"Keigo..."  
  
"Eh?! Kirihara's date is Seigaku's number one cold fish!"  
  
"Who's Seigaku's cold fish? You must have mistaken him for the Mamushi!"  
  
"Gakuto, please quiet down."  
  
"Hmph. Your bendy doubles partner can't keep his mouth shut to save his own life."  
  
"Phshhh..."  
  
"Shishido-san, please don't aggravate Mukahi-sempai any more than you already have."  
  
"Hoi?"  
  
"But Chotarou..."  
  
"Eiji..."  
  
"Gekkoukujyo..."  
  
"Ii data..."  
  
"Usu."  
  
"Hmm... Akutagawa-san?"  
  
Someone yawned. "Eh? Fuji! Play a game with me!"  
  
"Mada mada dane."  
  
----------  
  
Sometimes it was a comfort to know that you have your teammates right behind you but sometimes, it was a real pain.  
  
"TEME, MAMUSHI!"  
  
"PHSHHH!"  
  
"Oi, oi, Momoshiro, Kaidoh, don't make too much noise, nyah! Tezuka will hear us!"  
  
"I give up..."  
  
"Don't worry, Oishi. I'm sure things will work out just fine."  
  
"Fuji, Fuji! Have a match with me!"  
  
"Ii data..."  
  
It was somewhere between three games to four with him in the lead that he noticed his teammates hiding behind the bushes. With the noise they were making, it was pretty hard to ignore them.  
  
"ARGH! Marui! Don't stick your gum in my hair!"  
  
"Oops. I thought it was the trash bin."  
  
"Teme..."  
  
Someone sighed in resignation. "Why me?"  
  
And it seemed that Kirihara's teammates weren't averse to following their teammate either.  
  
He had pretty much planned to ignore them (and their companions) and pretend not to have seen, or rather heard, them to save them from him ordering them to run a hundred laps come tomorrow. After all, they were probably just worried about him. But it seemed that they indeed deserved the hundred laps he was going to issue at their next practice.  
  
"Leave Choutarou out of this you flippy twit!"  
  
"Ha! Just because you're not getting any, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me!"  
  
"Gakuto, you know as well as I do that we shouldn't really rub other people's misfortune in their faces."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Shishido-san!"  
  
"I'm getting tired of this. Kabaji!"  
  
"Usu."  
  
"Gekkoukujyo..."  
  
Somewhere along the way, someone had thought it would be funny to give Taka- san a blasted racket. A lot good that did them...  
  
"HORA HORA BURNING!"  
  
"ACK! Taka-san!"  
  
"He's crazy! He could kill someone with that!"  
  
"Hmm... Echizen must have gotten real bored to give Taka-san a racket. Ii data..."  
  
And it was rather to his misfortune that Fudomine's Kamio, Ibu and Tachibana An have decided to make their appearance, therefore aggravating the situation even further.  
  
"Oh! Tachibana's little sister!"  
  
"MOMOSHIRO! Stay away from An-chan!"  
  
"Hmm... There they go again. Always ignoring me. I suppose it can't be helped. I don't really like to talk much. I'm not very vocal about these things...."  
  
"Phshhh..."  
  
"ACK! Kabaji! Put me down!"  
  
"Gakuto!"  
  
"Oi, oi, Atobe! Tell Kabaji to put us down!"  
  
"Shishido-san! Are you alright?"  
  
"Gekkokujyo..."  
  
"Hmm? Kabaji, did you hear something? I thought I heard someone calling me. I must be imagining things."  
  
"Usu."  
  
"Keigo..."  
  
"Shouldn't we try to calm them down before things get out of hand?"  
  
"I think it's a little too late for that, Oishi."  
  
"Come on, Fuji! A match with that disappearing serve! It was so cool!"  
  
"VICTORY!"  
  
"AN-CHAN!"  
  
"... It's not my fault that nobody notices me. I mean, I'm always here but I just blend in too nicely with the background. Ah, I almost forgot that Echizen still owes me a rematch for grip tape. He can't refuse. But then, we won't be able to have the match now. There's too many annoying people. Not that Kamio and An-chan are annoying but still..."  
  
"Hmm... Interesting how things turned out this way..."  
  
"Just because you're little, doesn't mean I have to take it easy on you!"  
  
"Little?! Who the hell are you calling little?!"  
  
"I believe he was pertaining to the red-haired shorty he's talking to."  
  
"WHAT?! Why you - ?! Hey, Jackal! Put me down! I'm going to kill them!"  
  
"COME ON, BABY! MOERUZE BURNING!"  
  
"Yukimura's going to kill me..."  
  
"Mada mada dane."  
  
It was then that Tezuka had had enough. He and Kirihara would just have to continue this match some other time. "That's it! Everyone, give me one hundred laps now!"  
  
----------  
  
Kirihara found the entire predicament quite amusing given the fact that Tezuka had ordered not only the Seigaku regulars but the regulars of the other schools as well, to run one hundred laps. In their shock, they (Oishi, Atobe, Sanada and Kamio) have yet to realize that Tezuka had no jurisdiction over the other schools. Oh well. At least he wasn't included. It was a good thing that he had kept his mouth shut the entire time.  
  
"Kirihara."  
  
Kirihara tilted his head as he looked up at Seigaku's captain, a smirk on his lips. "As expected of Seigaku's prized captain," he said, pertaining to the other school regulars being reduced to running laps.  
  
Tezuka seemed to ignore his smart-ass comment as he presented him with a leveled gaze. "I must apologize. We'll have to finish our match some other time."  
  
The second year ace merely shrugged. "That's fine with me."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"How does Sunday sound to you?"  
  
"Hmm... Very well."  
  
"It's a date then." Kirihara couldn't believe he said that. It had just slipped out, a slip of the tongue really. He felt the heat rising to his face in --- embarrassment most likely. (What else could it possibly be anyway?)  
  
Had he been looking, he could've sworn to have seen Tezuka's pale cheeks tinged pink. He was blushing.  
  
----------  
  
Sunday had gone on without a hitch. They had actually finished their match six games to four. Tezuka was the victor. It would've ended there. Tezuka wasn't exactly willing for this to stop now that it had already started. What he didn't think of was that neither was Kirihara.  
  
"Oi, oi, Tezuka! How about a rematch? I'll beat you next time."  
  
It wasn't surprising for him to have agreed. Which is why he found himself spending more and more time with Rikkaidai's second year ace. Neither of them wanted to stop seeing each other for some odd reason. Even if a match ended between them, there was always a challenge to meet up for a rematch. It became so routine that even after the third years graduated from junior high, they still continued to see each other. On days when their matches were postponed due to rain, they would end up sitting in the coffee shop, talking for hours and hours, always finding out something fascinating about the other. (At least on Tezuka's side anyway.) And on some days, for a bit of change in their routine, they'd go out fishing. (Usually, it would end up with Kirihara soaked and wet because he was too restless to wait for the fish to bite.)  
  
It also wasn't surprising that seeing as how he had let this go on for so long that his friends had decided that pestering him about it would be the best course of action. (What in the world did they mean about first base? They're obviously asking him about the wrong sport.) Apparently, they were wrong.  
  
They may take advantage of him since he wasn't captain but he had every intention of taking over as captain and when that happens, there would definitely be a whole lot of running for every one of them. Tezuka was determined to have the last laugh.  
  
----------  
  
"It's raining..." Kirihara commented as he stared outside the shop. He was already in second year high school, a lot more mature than he was back in junior high but still a magnet for trouble.  
  
"Hn. We're not here to play a game anyway. " Tezuka sat opposite the junior going over several papers, brow twitching at the grades. "We're here to study, remember?"  
  
"Aa."  
  
"Don't sound that put off. I'm not the one who asked for a tutorial."  
  
"If I don't pass my next quiz, I won't be able to play."  
  
The senior raised a brow at him. "Why not ask your seniors to tutor you? Why me?"  
  
Kirihara sighed. "Don't think that I haven't tried that. Sanada-san slammed the door in my face. Yanagi-sempai's really busy. Yukimura-buchou is really scary. Marui-san and I don't get along well. Jackal doesn't know how to teach. Well, Yagyuu can't teach me because he'd end up making out with Niou which is just gross and vice-versa." He leaned closer to Tezuka. "That's about it."  
  
Tezuka frowned. "That still doesn't explain why you asked me."  
  
The Rikkaidai ace stared into the Seigaku captain's eyes and said, "I like you. Plain and simple."  
  
----------  
  
It had taken a while for Tezuka to calm his racing heart. It had also taken that much time for him to realize that Kirihara had meant it as something more in the lines of "I like you because you're not as crazy as my teammates and everybody else. Plain and simple." What else could it have probably meant?  
  
He wasn't really interested in getting a declaration of love or anything of the sort but why did he seem so disappointed? He concentrated his eyes on his shaking hand, willing it to stop. So engross was he on the task that he failed to notice Kirihara reaching out until warm, slender hands gently held onto his.  
  
"Are you alright, Tezuka-san?"  
  
Strange. He stopped shaking. "Aa. I'm fine. Let's start."  
  
----------  
  
It was strange how things actually progressed from merely having hot chocolate and a tennis match to going out, have fun and all those other things normal, healthy teenagers were engaged in. Whenever they went out, it never occurred to them that they were actually dates. (But it did raise their friends' suspicions or rather, their perverted interests. But they were in college. They could do what they wanted. Damn.)  
  
They weren't a couple. And no, they weren't dating. (They were simply going out together.) They had never really done anything that would give people that idea. Their friends were really weird.  
  
Seriously, a guy who makes stupid puns is weird. (Good thing Kurobane gets good kicks out of that.) A guy who thinks he's the epitome of perfection. Weird. The guy who dates the aforementioned narcissist. Weird. (But it wouldn't do good to mention that to Sanada.) A guy with a brother complex. Weird. (Make sure never to piss the big brother off. Mizuki-san can attest to that.) A guy who likes taking notes wherever he goes and pops up rather frightening juice attacks. Weird. (So that would mean that Yanagi-san would be weird except that he didn't physically take down notes and neither would he make surprise juice attacks on anyone.) The hissing guy. Weird. The guy who sleeps all the time when he's not playing tennis. Weird. (But then again, his admirer is weird... So... the world does make a weird sort of sense sometimes...) The big, scary, tough guy who was actually a softy in denial. (Better not mention that to Akutsu. Getting a knuckle sandwich was not something he wished to contemplate.) Weird. The rest... they're weird too.  
  
Kirihara sighed as he laid in bed. He was digressing from the subject at hand. He was most definitely not dating Tezuka Kunimitsu. Or was he?  
  
He snorted. He was not lying down here in his room contemplating whether or not he was actually dating Tezuka. They were not going on a date later. They were simply going to meet up at the coffee shop near the campus. There was no need for him to agonize over the fact that Atobe, that arrogant prick, decided that remarking on his relationship with his stoic friend was the best course of action. This, of course, was quickly picked up on by the resident drama queen, Shishido, who commented about Tezuka's lack of taste which pissed Kirihara off for some odd reason.  
  
Before Kirihara could strangle (well, actually bite but they don't know that now do they?) said drama queen, he was quickly restrained by two sets of arms. Sanada and Tezuka seemed to have rather quick reflexes to have caught him before anyone else could react. Ohtori looked rather nervous. He had that wounded puppy dog look that made Kirihara wish he didn't have so he could tear the taller guy's boyfriend to shreds. He liked Ohtori. Ohtori was nice, next to Tezuka that is.  
  
He sat up, got out of bed and walked to over to his closet. Now, what was he going to wear? Of course, it wasn't to impress Tezuka. They were not going out on a date. Or so he kept telling himself.  
  
----------  
  
Tezuka raised a brow as Kirihara plopped himself down on the plush seat of the little shop. The look on the other's face was definitely a warning. It was the face of a guy who was silently promising someone an early grave. It spelled trouble and that was most definitely not good.  
  
"I take it you're in a bad mood."  
  
"Hn."  
  
"You know that strangling Shishido isn't going to do you any good, don't you?"  
  
"Hn."  
  
Tezuka let out an exasperated sigh. "Stop imitating me."  
  
Kirihara grinned at him. "How did you know I was doing that?"  
  
"Well, it couldn't be Sanada since his reaction would be to tell me to mind my own business."  
  
"What if I was just imitating myself?"  
  
The older boy snorted. "That's an impossibility. Had it been anyone else but me, you would've bitten their head off."  
  
"Haha. I don't bite... Damn. That's not the point." Kirihara proceeded to pout. It was cute, even Tezuka had to admit.  
  
"Oh, by the way, how did your calculus exam go?"  
  
The younger boy frowned a bit. "Not really good. I think I got confused in some numbers. I still take too long to solve just one. I almost didn't make it to the last one."  
  
"Hmm... We'll have to work on that this Saturday then."  
  
"Really! Err, I mean, really?"  
  
"You guys on a date again? Didn't you guys just see each other earlier?" a deep voice interrupted them just as Tezuka was about to answer.  
  
"Keigo... I don't think that bothering other people when they're on a date is actually the best course of action. Besides, I did tell you before that Kirihara bites, didn't I?"  
  
"Sanada-san..." Kirihara growled so menacingly that Tezuka knew that if the younger boy didn't know Sanada any better, he would've bitten him by now.  
  
Tezuka sighed.  
  
----------  
  
Studying calculus wasn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world, Kirihara thought as he found himself tapping the table with the other end of his pencil. But watching Tezuka was.  
  
There was something about the way the older boy moved or did anything for the matter that fascinated him. He couldn't put his finger on it. Basically, being with Tezuka alone was enough to heat his blood and make his heart beat faster.  
  
"Is something wrong?"  
  
Kirihara nearly dropped his pencil. He hadn't really noticed that he had been staring at Tezuka for too long. He shook his head. "Nothing... Nothing at all."  
  
The older boy sighed and removed his glasses, massaging the bridge of his nose. "I don't think that this is going to work. You've been solving that problem for the last ten minutes when it's the easiest problem in the exercise."  
  
The younger tennis player glanced down at his paper and confirmed it. Yup, it was. He could've solved it in less than a minute. Oops.  
  
"Apparently, you're not in the state to concentrate right now until you actually solve that little problem of yours. So, tell me what's wrong. Maybe I could help you."  
  
Kirihara swallowed hard. What could he possibly tell Tezuka? There really wasn't anything wrong except that he found himself easily distracted by his fascination with the older player. It wasn't that he was complaining about it. He actually liked his current distraction.  
  
But if he didn't say anything, Tezuka probably wouldn't like it. Kirihara frowned. He'd gone through this with Yukimura-buchou (although the guy's no longer his captain) before and had never had the urge to be honest with his response at all.  
  
Noticing that Tezuka was frowning at him for his silence, he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head. "You're gonna laugh at me or hit the roof for this. It's embarrassing really."  
  
"It's alright. I don't mind."  
  
Kirihara swallowed hard. "Well, you see, I..." His heart started beating faster when the older guy leaned closer, so close that he could feel his every breath. His line of thought suddenly becoming obscure and out of reach. And all he could see was Tezuka, Tezuka and Tezuka. "I..."  
  
"You what, Akaya..."  
  
"I..." Kirihara felt like he was in a tennis game with Tezuka where the ball was being drawn in by the Tezuka Zone except that he was the one being reeled in. He found himself leaning towards the other, his eyes slowly drifting shut, leaving the sentence unfinished. It felt like a dream. But like all dreams, it had to end.  
  
The door suddenly opened. "Kunimitsu-kun!" a girl called out.  
  
Both of them drew apart. Kirihara felt his cheeks heating up. The feeling he had at the moment was almost the same thing as getting caught by Sanada doing something stupid. What had they almost done? It was mortifying to know that he had absolutely no control over the situation. At least nothing really happened. He knew he should've been feeling rather relieved yet he felt disappointment instead.  
  
"Sakura, what are you doing here?"  
  
The girl was pretty, at least she was in Kirihara's standards. Her long, raven hair was sleek and shiny. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. Her lips were currently set in a big smile as Tezuka got up to greet her. With just one glance at her, he got the impression that she was the type of girl no one could hate. Why not? She had the face of an angel.  
  
"I missed you , Kunimitsu-kun."  
  
Warning bells were ringing in his head as he saw her put her arms around Tezuka's neck and pulled him down for a kiss. It was as if the world suddenly shifted upside-down. What was wrong with him? They just kissed. It didn't mean anything. To him, anyway.  
  
Then why did he feel like had just lost something important?  
  
When the couple drew apart, Tezuka placed his arm around her waist as cleared his throat. "Sakura, this is Kirihara Akaya, a fellow tennis player. And Akaya... this is Himura Sakura... my fiancée."  
  
Kirihara felt his world fall apart. Tezuka was engaged? Why didn't the other tell him? You just weren't important enough, his mind told him. His mouth pressed into a thin line as his fists clenched at his side. "Nice to meet you," he found himself saying. He looked down. It was a surprise that his voice wasn't shaking when his body actually was. Why was he reacting this way?  
  
"I..." So, Tezuka's engaged. Now what? It was no big deal. He should be congratulating them. But he couldn't find it in himself to be genuinely happy for them. "I should go."  
  
He grabbed his coat and made a quick exit, not noticing Tezuka's lips set in a grim line as he watched him go.  
  
----------  
  
Tezuka frowned as his friends sat around him, telling stories, catching up over what happened during the week. (Well, they didn't exactly spend everyday together except for those who were with him in the tennis club.) That and playing poker. (Although right now, they were laughing their asses off of a particular incident that concerned Akutsu getting a load of crap into his bag and Sanada passing out from a mere sip of Inui's juice, wherein Inui got good data by the way. That juice was getting more potent every time.) There was something wrong. The past week had been rather bizarre. Something was always missing. Unfortunately, he knew what it was. Well, rather who.  
  
Usually, Akaya would be sitting right beside him, trying to distract the other players but ending up being annoyed instead. That wasn't the case right now. The younger boy was sitting quietly on the couch, looking out the window, barely listening to what the others were saying.  
  
True, Atobe's room had one of the best views there were but they've been here so many times for the view to be more interesting than the people in said room.  
  
Aside from that, what disturbed Tezuka more was that he hadn't seen Akaya much over the week (since his fiancée came over to visit) aside from tennis practice. Talking to the younger boy proved difficult as he'd disappear as soon as practice was over. It was almost as if the former Rikkaidai ace was avoiding him... But why?  
  
Tezuka didn't know why. But he intended to find out.  
  
Poker night was strangely uneventful much to the others' disappointment as they couldn't even get a rise out of Akaya no matter what they said especially when the younger boy would merely stare at them like they've grown two heads. (Although, Tezuka thought that they were still pretty much amused at Kaidoh's reaction when Jiroh fell asleep on his lap, which led to a lot of blushing and hissing from all the rather vulgar language exchanged that were best forgotten if one meant to keep his sanity. Unfortunately, most of them lost it long before college.)  
  
As the others were greeting each other a good night, Tezuka grabbed Akaya around the waist as the younger was quickly making his way to the door.  
  
"Tezuka, let go. I have to get back to the dorm. I still have something to do," Akaya said, his voice a mere whisper.  
  
The former Seigaku captain ignored the previous statements and said, "I'll walk you to your place." He tightened his hold a bit, leaving the younger no room for argument just as Akaya opened his mouth to protest.  
  
----------  
  
Atobe Keigo watched from his window as Tezuka walk out onto the street with his hand holding on to Kirihara's own as the younger boy struggled to keep up with him. His lips quirked in faint amusement. He had wondered really when Tezuka would start making his move. Tezuka may be a prodigy in tennis but he was oblivious and clueless when it came to matters of the heart. Kirihara's no better though. In fact, the former Rikkaidai ace was even more oblivious and clueless than the former Seigaku captain.  
  
His thoughts were interrupted as a pair of arms wrapped around him. A warm breath tickled his ear.  
  
"What could possibly be more interesting out there than what's right here, Keigo?"  
  
Atobe smirked. "I was beginning to wonder when you'd notice that you haven't been paying much attention to me all night, Genichirou."  
  
"Hmm... How about I make it up to you right now?"  
  
Atobe chuckled then he purred, "Since you put it that way... the bedroom's not too far..."  
  
----------  
  
"Oi, oi, Tezuka! Slow down a bit, will you?" Kirihara said as he nearly stumbled. Then, Tezuka stopped abruptly, causing him to collide with the taller boy's back. "Geez, what's up with you? Whatever it is, I swear I didn't put fertilizer in Akutsu's bag. I didn't put that weird juice in Sanada-san's water bottle either. It was Inui-san's idea! Really, I –" His statement was cut short when he caught sight of the look on Tezuka's face, one that said that the older guy did not know anything about what he was saying.  
  
"You're the one who put fertilizer in Akutsu's bag?" the former captain asked, raising a brow questioningly. "And Inui's juice in Sanada's water bottle?"  
  
"I, err, ah... Forget I said anything. Hehe..." The former Rikkaidai ace scratched the back of his head sheepishly.  
  
Tezuka stared at him incredulously for a moment before sighing. "I'll pretend that I didn't hear that." A concerned look washed over the taller boy's face. "Akaya, is there anything wrong? I haven't seen you much lately aside from practice. You didn't even show up for our usual meetings."  
  
Kirihara looked away. What was he supposed to tell Tezuka? He didn't even know what was wrong with him. It was just that looking at Tezuka for long periods of time hurt. Well, the mere thought of the other alone hurt. There was this weird pain in his chest that wouldn't go away.  
  
"N-Nothing's wrong. I've just been pretty busy lately. That's all." The look on the other's face indicated that Tezuka did not believe a word of what he said. Kirihara bit his lip. "Fine... It's personal. I'd rather deal with this on my own... I'll tell you when I've got it all figured out. Okay?"  
  
Tezuka seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding. "I don't like it but just promise me that if you need help, tell me."  
  
Kirihara nodded in reply as the other walked him back to his dorm. I don't like it either. He didn't know whether he was referring to the strange feelings he was experiencing or not telling Tezuka about said feelings.  
  
----------  
  
Tezuka put down his pen when he noticed companion giving him his trademark arrogant smirk. He sighed. Something was up. He had tried ignoring that for the past few minutes.  
  
"What is it, Atobe?"  
  
If possible, that smirk just got bigger and wider. Something was most definitely up. And he had the feeling that he wouldn't like it at all.  
  
"I was just wondering... So, how was it last night?"  
  
The former Seigaku captain raised a brow. "Weren't you there?"  
  
"Oh, don't play coy with me, Tezuka. I was talking about you and Kirihara."  
  
"Me and Akaya? What about it?"  
  
Atobe grinned. "How far did you guys go last night? It looked pretty serious between you two."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
Atobe gave a dramatic sigh. "I was wondering when you two would actually come out of the closet and announce your relationship."  
  
Tezuka frowned. His friendship with Kirihara was pretty much public. What else would they have to announce? The frown deepened. But given the fact that Atobe had a pretty much perverted line of thought whenever he got whatever it is that he got from Sanada, he was probably pertaining to...  
  
No. That couldn't be what the damn smug bastard was referring to. There was absolutely nothing like that between him and the freshman. Nothing at all... Well, perhaps it was a bit one-sided, for him anyway. He didn't know what Kirihara thought.  
  
He couldn't help but give a slight blush. Akaya was cute and someone he was more interested with than his own fiancée. The thing with Sakura is that their marriage was merely arranged. Tezuka had not made that public. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the arrangement. He had rather hoped that he would have a chance with Akaya but all of it was dashed when his parents announced his fate.  
  
"You like him, don't you?" Atobe smug voice cut into his thoughts. His hand covered part of his face, the positioning of fingers told the former Seigaku captain that he was using Insight.  
  
He was about to reply when someone else interrupted them.  
  
"Kunimitsu-kun, I knew I'd find you here," Sakura's bright voice commented as she wrapped her arms around the bespectacled boy.  
  
"Ah, Sakura..." Tezuka looked up at her smiling face before turning his attention to the diva opposite him. There was a frown on the diva's lips and the narrowing of his eyes that indicated that he did not like what he was seeing. "Atobe –"  
  
"Was just leaving," Atobe announced haughtily. He picked up his papers and books and walked off but not before giving Tezuka another disapproving frown. When the diva vanished from sight, Tezuka wondered what it was that Atobe saw with his Insight.  
  
----------  
  
Kirihara hadn't done anything lately. He was rather reserved these past few days much to Sanada's relief but at the same time it was disturbing. It was like the calm before the storm, a deceitful peacefulness that would erupt into an all out chaos soon. The former Rikkaidai vice-captain didn't know if he preferred this quiet and withdrawn Kirihara better or the mischievous imp who is also known as Kirihara.  
  
He had heard from Keigo about Tezuka's fiancée. It was a bit disturbing to know that the stoic boy was actually engaged for quite some time now and yet he had made no mention of it of all the times they had all been together. Knowing how Akaya felt for Tezuka (although the younger boy was oblivious to his own feelings), it must have been devastating to find out.  
  
Sanada had originally intended to have a talk with his younger teammate but it seemed that Kirihara had run out as soon as practice was over. That left only Tezuka to talk to.  
  
Truth be told he and Tezuka were not really that close. Probably borne out of the fact that he had once been jealous of the other because of Keigo's fascination with him. Right now, he was only doing this for Keigo's piece of mind since the diva was not really interested in seeing Tezuka's intended anytime soon.  
  
He clapped a hand on the ex-Seigaku captain's shoulder as the other retied his shoelaces. "Tezuka. We need to talk."  
  
----------  
  
"Tezuka. We need to talk."  
  
It wasn't really a surprise that Sanada wanted to talk to him. After all, after seeing Atobe's reaction to Sakura's presence, it was only right that it would soon involve the diva's significant other. He just didn't expect it to be this soon.  
  
"Hn." His customary response would have to do for now in front of the others. Sanada would just have to wait a while.  
  
He did not see the other nod to the diva on the other side of the room nor did he see Atobe give his boyfriend a grateful smile, a promise that he would make up for any inconvenience to his lover later.  
  
"I'll be at the bleachers. Come see me when you're done."  
  
It wasn't long before Tezuka found himself seated in the bleachers right beside Sanada.  
  
"What is it that you wanted to talk about?"  
  
Sanada sighed. "You probably know why if you know Keigo as well as I think you do. He doesn't really like your intended."  
  
"Does it matter if he likes her or not?"  
  
The other snorted. "That's not the point. We all thought you were interested in Kirihara. Or did we just misinterpreted everything?"  
  
Tezuka briefly contemplated lying to Sanada but thought better of it. He was tired of keeping things to himself. "What would it matter? My family has already arranged everything. And besides, Akaya isn't really interested in me in that way."  
  
The teen beside him frowned. "That's not how we see it. It's obvious that he likes you, Tezuka. You're pretty much blind if you couldn't see that. He has it bad for you although... it's exasperating to know that you and he are quite oblivious of that fact."  
  
Tezuka chuckled a bit. "You've been spending too much time with Atobe. Now you even sound like him."  
  
"No, I do not."  
  
"Yes, you do."  
  
"I don't."  
  
"You do."  
  
"Do not."  
  
"Do too."  
  
"I beg your pardon but I do not sound – Wait, that's not what this is about. Don't change the subject," Sanada snapped. Definitely an Atobe-like trait. Anyone could see it.  
  
Tezuka sighed. Did Akaya really feel that way about him? The younger boy was nice and he deserved someone better. Tezuka certainly did not deserve his affections.  
  
"Don't do that," Sanada's voice cut in.  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"That look on your face. It's the same look as someone who thinks that he doesn't deserve to get what he wants." Tezuka stared at him. "Aha! I knew it. You are so predictable, you know that?"  
  
"What could I possibly do?"  
  
Sanada shrugged. "Don't ask me. I just did what I did best."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"Cause a scene."  
  
"Are you sure that was you or was that Atobe's doing?"  
  
"... Oh damn."  
  
----------  
  
"So... How have you been doing lately? You haven't been spending much time with Tezuka as usual," Fuji casually commented.  
  
Kirihara looked up from his paper and frowned. "What's with everyone lately? Just because I don't spend every waking moment with Tezuka doesn't mean that something is wrong."  
  
"But something is because you do spend almost every waking moment with Tezuka..." Jiroh commented with a yawn before falling back asleep on Kaidoh's lap, which had begun to be a regular occurrence, not that the other was complaining or rather, hissing about it.  
  
Kirihara growled. "Listen Fuji. Are you gonna tutor me or not?!"  
  
"I honestly think Tezuka could do a better job at this than I."  
  
Snap.  
  
The younger teen glanced at the broken pencil in his hand. He had been holding it too tightly.  
  
"You're obviously in denial," someone said and Kirihara was pretty sure of who the person was.  
  
"Shishido, you shouldn't just provoke the brat. If he tries to bite you, I'm not stopping him," Akutsu said in amusement.  
  
"Why are you guys here? I only asked Fuji to tutor me."  
  
"How long are you going to pretend that you don't need to be with Tezuka anyway?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"He doesn't get it."  
  
"Well, he is very clueless."  
  
"Yeah, I'd have to agree to that."  
  
"I'm sorry Kirihara-san but they are right," Ohtori said a little uneasily.  
  
Akaya scowled. "Fine!" He turned to Fuji and said, "If you won't help me with this, I'll find someone else!" Then he flounced out of the coffee shop, leaving his friends to stare after him.  
  
"Was it something we said?"  
  
They remained silent for a moment before Fuji broke the silence. "Hmm... Anou... Eto... Wanna play some cards?"  
  
"Sure, Fuji-san."  
  
"Fine with me."  
  
"I'll deal."  
  
"Pshhh..."  
  
Jiroh snored.  
  
----------  
  
Kirihara scowled at no one in particular as he stormed down the street. People were wise to move out of his way as he looked pretty much ready to bite anyone within arm's length of him. He continued walking so wrapped up in his foul mood that he failed to notice that he had unconsciously walked himself to Tezuka's door.  
  
He silently berated himself for not noticing this sooner and was about to quietly leave when the door opened, leaving him face to face with a surprised Tezuka. Outwardly, the ex-Seigaku captain remained stoic as ever. Somehow, only Kirihara knew which look it was. This was definitely the surprised/shocked stony look. No doubt about it.  
  
"Akaya?"  
  
The ex-Rikkaidai ace looked down at his sneakers. "I... I just remembered that I haven't congratulated you on your engagement yet. So... congratulations!" He turned and fled.  
  
Well, he would have had Tezuka not grabbed his arm in a tight grip and pulled Kirihara against him into a tight embrace. The younger boy felt warm, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. He melted and returned the embrace. Only Tezuka could make him feel like this. Would he still have this even after the older guy married? Of course not. Wishful thinking on his part. There was a twinge of pain in his chest. Kirihara closed his eyes as he hugged Tezuka tighter.  
  
Why isn't anything between them enough anymore? Kirihara couldn't understand why he wanted something more from Tezuka, only Tezuka. He didn't know what it was he wanted from the bespectacled boy.  
  
His answer came to him unexpectedly... when Tezuka broke their embrace and kissed him. It was everything a kiss was described to be and more. Tezuka kissed him, plundering his mouth while he kissed him back with equal fervor. If only it could've lasted forever... Everything was perfect. Until...  
  
"Kunimitsu-kun? Who was –" Glass shattered. They quickly broke apart and saw Tezuka's fiancee looking at them full of hurt and betrayal.  
  
"Sakura –"  
  
Kirihara didn't wait for Tezuka to say any more. He fled despite Tezuka's efforts to call him back, to go after him. By the time he made it out on the streets, tears were blurring his sight, streaming down his cheeks. He didn't know why it took so long for him to realize. All the signs had been there.  
  
He was in love with Tezuka Kunimitsu.  
  
Reality had come crashing down on him the moment the kiss ended. Tezuka was never going to be his.  
  
----------  
  
Sanada sighed as he walked back to the apartment he shared with Keigo. Keigo's parents decided to spend some quality time with their son (and most likely to try to get him to change his mind about his choice of partner.) The stoic boyfriend of the said diva had just gone out to buy a few things from the grocery as well as his dinner. It was only his rotten luck that it started raining. The only good thing about it was that he had an umbrella handy.  
  
He mentally went over the supplies he got. All of them should last at least until Keigo came back. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings but a familiar hunched figure caught his eye. He knew Kirihara was reckless but certainly not reckless enough to stay out in the rain. Besides that, the boy was obviously crying from the sobs Sanada could hear. Something was wrong.  
  
----------  
  
It didn't take long to get back to the apartment, that is, after taking at least twenty minutes coaxing the distraught boy to get up and walk. As soon as they got in, Sanada dragged the boy into a room and he went into the bathroom, grabbing a few towels (which he hoped, Keigo wouldn't mind letting Kirihara use for the moment).  
  
"Ne, Sanada-san?"  
  
Sanada sighed upon hearing Kirihara's voice. He hoped that this wouldn't be another one of those smart-ass comments about his choice of lover. Well, he was expecting anything, anything at all except... this.  
  
Kirihara was sitting in the far corner of the room, dripping wet from the rain, hugging his knees to his chest. He looked so much like a pathetic drowned kitten.  
  
"What is it?" Sanada asked as he threw a towel in the other boy's direction.  
  
"How... how do you know if he's the one? Your Atobe..."  
  
The junior blinked a couple of times before letting the question sink in. "What in the world are you talking about Kirihara? I don't understand..."  
  
Kirihara's lip trembled. "Tezuka..." He buried his face in his hands. "Sanada-san, I don't know what to do... I, I love him so much it hurts but he doesn't even acknowledge it. Then, he kissed me. It would've been fine but there's that girl..."  
  
Sanada remained silent as the boy trailed off. He had known that Kirihara had been in love with someone for quite some time now. He just hadn't expected it to have been Tezuka that the junior ace was in love with.  
  
He didn't know what to say. He was at a lost at what to do. He would have to call Keigo later to help him with this deep hole Kirihara had dug up with Tezuka Kunimitsu but for now, all he could do was hold the boy close to him as the freshman cried his heart out.  
  
----------  
  
The door slammed and footsteps rapidly ran down the hallway. Tezuka sighed as he sank down on the couch. It was over. Well, not really. He expected a few calls from several people later on to berate him on his stupidity. And he still had something to finish. He just hoped that the other would forgive him.  
  
----------  
  
The few days were a blur for Kirihara. It was strange. He felt weird, like there was no ground beneath his legs, like he was going to find himself plunging down from a high cliff. He had barely seen Tezuka as the rest of his friends were doing everything to keep him busy. But it wasn't enough.  
  
When he was alone, he couldn't stop thinking about Tezuka. It was also the case even if everyone else kept him busy. Tezuka was getting married. He should just give up. But it just wasn't fair. He really loved Tezuka Kunimitsu. But he didn't know if the stoic boy loved him back despite that kiss.  
  
Thinking about that kiss made him want to cry. It would probably be the only thing he would ever get from Tezuka.  
  
A knock on his door pulled him from his thoughts. He trudged slowly, wiping the tears welling up in his eyes, thinking that it was probably Sanada or Shishido coming to check on him. They just wouldn't believe him even when he said that he was going to be fine.  
  
Whoever it was knocking the door was certainly annoying. After the first knock, it was followed a barrage of loud taps on the door. The ex-Rikkaidai ace opened the door, ready to reprimand the person behind it when he caught himself, recognizing the person on his doorstep.  
  
"You...! You're..."  
  
----------  
  
Tezuka wandered around, looking for signs of Kirihara anywhere. He had tried to catch the younger boy a few times over the past few days but something would always come up. It was as if the entire universe was conspiring against him.  
  
Just the other day, Fuji had asked him to accompany him to buy a new cactus. Then after that, Atobe dragged him off to finish their project which wasn't due for two months. The day after that, Akutsu locked him in the janitor's closet which made him late for tennis practice, which prompted the tennis captain to give him twenty laps after practice. Then, somebody stuffed his bag in Ohtori's locker. He had to call the younger boy to come back to the locker room when the said boy was already back in his apartment with Shishido doing who knows what. It took almost two hours, which was highly suspicious since the boy only lived ten minutes from the tennis courts, for him to get there with a slowly trudging Shishido trailing behind him, looking absolutely smug and sated. Tezuka did not want to know what they did. And he certainly had no intention of finding out soon. The next day, Sanada had managed to sucker him into babysitting Jirou until Kaidoh came. He didn't actually know how much he had been suckered until he realized that he didn't know when the other was supposed to arrive and he knew that Kaidoh had class for at least three more hours before having the free time to go over and pick Jirou up. It was after that he encountered Inui who had somehow managed to drag him out to have dinner and slipped a really potent dose of Inui juice (which was around a few drops if the data specialist didn't want it detected until it was too late) and knocked him well into the next day.  
  
Something was definitely up. And it had mostly likely had something to do with Akaya.  
  
He sighed as he gave up trying to catch Kirihara. He had tried going to the other's apartment earlier but he was informed that Akaya had just gone out. It strange though that he thought he caught a glimpse of Sakura but wasn't able to confirm it as she was gone in a blink of an eye.  
  
He walked into the coffee shop and settled himself down on his usual spot. He looked outside without really seeing, wondering where the younger boy was. Then, someone spoke.  
  
"Tezuka... I... We need to talk."  
  
Akaya.  
  
----------  
  
"Tezuka... I... We need to talk."  
  
Kirihara sat down in front of the former Seigaku captain. What he had just said was so mature sounding that he couldn't believe it came from his own mouth. But that wasn't important right now. What was important was that he tell Tezuka everything, not knowing that the older boy wanted to do so as well.  
  
He twiddled with his thumbs a bit before saying, "Tezuka, I spoke with Sakura-chan earlier today." He took a deep breath and continued, "I heard that you broke your engagement with her. Is that true?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
The former Rikkaidai ace let out a sigh of relief. "I... I wanted to tell you... I... Damn. I don't know how to say it." He ran a hand through his unruly curls. "Things have gotten so crazy lately. It's hard to think straight." Tezuka remained as quiet as ever, patiently waiting for Akaya to say his piece before he said his.  
  
"I've never realized everything until that moment that I... I..."  
  
"What, Akaya?" Tezuka prompted.  
  
"I wanted you to kiss me. I still do." Oh damn. He was not supposed to say that. He had wanted to ask Tezuka what he felt. The other boy's eyes widened and Kirihara quickly continued, "What I meant to say was that... I love you!" He had stood up and had spoken the last three words so loud that the other patrons hushed and turned to look at them. He put a hand over his mouth and blushed. "Oops."  
  
It was quiet as the people waited for Tezuka's reply. The normally stoic boy stood up and walked around the table to Kirihara with a smile on his lips. Kirihara bit his lip as Tezuka got closer. He wondered whether or not it was a mistake to tell the other what he felt. But he didn't have to wonder long as Tezuka pulled him close and kissed him.  
  
Well, at least there was no need for him to waste his breath to ask something that he already knew now.  
  
----------  
  
It was a few days later, during a reunion with a bunch of high school friends that Tezuka came in with an arm around his date's waist. There was a massive attack of face vaults at the identity of his date. Only a select few seemed to have been unaffected as they've known all along.  
  
Catlike eyes were shining in mischief as he met them with his own. Tezuka felt his lips quirk before responding to the silent request. He dipped his head and their lips met.  
  
Later, when everyone had gotten over the shock, one of them would ask how they got together and either he or his Akaya would've replied,  
  
"It all started with a match that wouldn't end..."  
  
----------  
  
OWARI  
  
Author's notes: This is meant to be a one-shot. I just didn't expect this to get this long. (I was actually thinking along the lines of around five to ten pages but ended up with more pages than I originally thought.) I hope you don't mind too much sap but that's what I write best. Sorry to say this but, there is no NC-17 for this fic. (Besides, NC-17 is banned from FFNet.) I could've done an R but I suck at writing that sort of thing.  
  
Started: April 19, 2004

Ended: June 6, 2004


End file.
